India's main stock index falls more than 3 pc at open
MUMBAI: Indian stocks fell at the opening of trading on Monday, with the benchmark Nifty index down more than 3%.
US President Donald Trump slapped a flat 26% tariff on imports from India last week, with New Delhi saying it was examining both "implications" and "opportunities" from the duty hikes.
The Nifty 50 — which presents the largest Indian companies on the national stock exchange — was down 3.55%.
The Nifty IT, the country's powerful information technology companies, and who have the United States as their single biggest market, was down 5.53%.
The Times of India called the stocks slump a 'bloodbath'.
After the tariffs were announced, India's Department of Commerce said it was "carefully examining the implications of the various measures", adding in a statement that it was "also studying the opportunities that may arise due to this new development".
India's pharmaceutical sector, which exported more than $8 billion of products to the United States in the 2024 fiscal year, emerged unscathed — with drugs exempt from its reciprocal tariff move.
Trump, speaking while unveiling the tariffs, said that Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi was a 'great friend' but that he had not been 'treating us right'.
By RSS/AFP
